Isabel Knight's Abnormal Life
by Percabeth95
Summary: I'm a regular girl with a regular life... not! I'm Isabel Knight, and I've always been abnormal. Well, soon I'm going to find out just how abnormal I am, encountering a few interesting people and other things along the way. NicoXOC R
1. Chapter 1

**This is my new and improved version of the first chapter, for all of you who read it before. After Aish Sheva added me to his/her forum, I realized I needed to clean a few things up. I_ don't own PJO, only Isabel and Alyssa._**

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BRRINGG!! I tried to find the snooze button, but I heard my dad yelling, "Isabel, come out here!" I sighed and sat up. "I bought your favorite cereal," he called from the kitchen, knowing that was just about all I would let myself eat, "don't you want some?" I didn't respond. I felt too tired for breakfast,.

Sliding out of bed, I grabbed an outfit out of my closet, hoping it looked reasonable, changed, and slunk downstairs. "Hi dad," I said obligingly, then stayed quiet as I poured a bowl of breakfast and sat down.

"Well, what's wrong with you?" my dad asked. "You're not yourself today."

"I had another dream last night." I frowned at him. "You know I really need your help with this." I had been having vivid, scary dreams, and my dad wouldn't help me understand them. The only thing I could tell was that these dreams were abnormal. But then again, I'm pretty abnormal.

"Isabel Dianthe Knight." I winced as he used my middle name, he knew I hated it. "I don't think you need to worry. You—you'll be fine."

I ignored him and ate my breakfast. My only hope was that he would leave for work or the bus would come. Yeah, well neither of those is likely. My dad's work consists of taking care of flower's at Cornelius' Greenhouse downtown. Not likely he'd need to leave early.

Finishing my cereal, I grabbed my backpack and went outside without another word. At the bus stop, I noticed the street was quiet. Weird. Just another thing to add to the abnormal list, I guess.

I thought about my dreams. I had this strange feeling that my dad knew why I was having them, and he just didn't want to tell me. I wondered what could be so important for him that he would keep from his one and only daughter. I wondered if Alyssa, my best friend, would be able to figure it out. She was really...well, I guess you would call it _wise_, and she'd helped with stuff like this before.

Much to my surprise, the school bus pulled up. I realized my ADHD mind had somehow let five minutes pass without me realizing.

I hopped onto the bus and scanned the seats for some space. My house was one of the last on the route, because I lived fairly close to the school. My dad, however, didn't want me to walk alone, and seeing as _Alyssa_ doesn't even live close enough for me to walk...

Anyway, I saw a seat where I wouldn't have to pay attention to the snickering people around me, and went to sit. The bus jerked forward, and I relaxed for a minute, even though my mind was working frantically, like always, noticing every detail. I could live with that, though.

Finally, we stopped outside the school and filed into the building. As I neared my locker, I noticed a girl standing next to it. Getting closer, I realized she was Sylvia Gold, the head cheerleader and a _major_ rich snob. I despised her. After all, she disliked my so-called "hippy-ness" and tried to get the school to enforce stricter rules on my clothing choices. As if. I tried to ignore her as I got my books, but she insisted on taunting me.

"Where have _you_ been, Isabel? With your _friend_? You two should form a dyslexia club and you'd be the only ones in it! " As she continued, I resisted the urge to punch her in the face, and instead resorted to treating my books like scum and taking my anger out on them. As I grabbed my last book, I closed my eyes so I could stay calm. All of a sudden I heard an ear-piercing scream from behind me. To my surprise, a nearby plant seemed to be growing out and trapping Sylvia in its leaves.

Before I could get blamed for something like I always do, I slammed my locker closed and ran toward my class, away from the screaming cheerleader.

SMACK! I ran into my best friend Alyssa, who had been drawn here by the screams .

"Where are you going, Isabel?"

"Um, to class, where do you think?" I noticed as she looked in the direction of the noise. "Oh, nothing fun going on down there, come on!" I grabbed her hand and dragged her down the hall to the girl's restroom so we could talk.

"Isabel, why—oh." I didn't know what she was "oh"-ing, but I figured she was having one of her moments of revelation.

"Look, I think I... I think I just made a plant try to strangle Sylvia."

I heard her whisper something that sounded like "Demeter," but I ignored it and continued.

"I had another dream last night, too. What's going on here? Am I going crazy?"

Alyssa grabbed me and dragged me off to class, muttering things like, "I knew it... gotta tell her... gotta make a plan...."

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BRRINGG!! A school bell never fell as sweet on my ears as this one. My next class was Latin, in which we studied Latin, of course, but also Ancient Greek and its history. It was my favorite class, because Greek just came to me, and I took to it as well as or better than English.

As I entered the classroom, I realized that Alyssa wasn't here, but a substitute was. Where had she gone? She and I always worked together in this class, because she had learned it better than I had. I slid into my desk and started wondering. How had that plant captured Sylvia? Had I caused it, or something else? And why was it growing so fast?

Alyssa entered right as the bell rang again, and everyone became quiet. I looked at the board as the teacher spoke. "Good morning class."

"Good morning Mr. Windsor," I mumbled, reading his name from the board. A few seconds later, I realized everyone was staring at me. "What?" I asked.

"The board," Alyssa whispered behind me. I looked again and realized the name was written in Ancient Greek. I hadn't even realized I was reading a language other than English. I saw that Mr. Windsor was looking at me in a very bored way.

"Um, Mr. Windsor, I don't feel too well," Alyssa said. "Can I go to the nurse?"

He nodded, but Alyssa continued. "I think... I think I need someone to come with me though. Isabel, come on." She was either sick or a very good pretender, so I followed her.

"Come on," she whispered immediately and took off running. I sprinted up next to her, knowing that this had to be important.

"What's... going...on..." I asked between breaths. Alyssa slowed down and came to a stop. We both waited and caught our breath before speaking again.

"I have something I should have told you a long time ago, but there's a ninety-nine percent chance you won't believe me this time. It'll take a while to understand."

"Okay," I said, "spit it out, then."

"You're... you're a demigod."

"_What?_"

"You're—oh no. Get behind me."

"Why?"

"Now!" I heard a tone of worry and... fear in her voice that had never been there before, so I obliged her, and looking up, I realized why.

There, five feet in front of us, was a monster. A giant, standing ten feet tall, holding flames in his hands, and looking like he would gladly eat both of us. I didn't know why Alyssa hadn't moved, then I realized she had drawn out... a _sword?_ I decided to ignore it because then another monster creature arrived. It looked like a snake and a woman. Alyssa pulled me into the bushes as the giant looked around, wondering where we had gone.

"Hurry, he'll start throwing in seconds. I need a rainbow."

"A what?"

"A rainbow, fast." She then began whispering to herself and I only caught a few words. "Who... call... Chiron... Nico!" I scrambled through my pockets, having no idea what she was talking about. Finally I found a clear candy wrapper and Alyssa used it to make a rainbow. "O Iris, goddess of the rainbow, please accept my offering. Show me Nico Di Angelo-- Oh man." I turned to follow her gaze and saw that the giant and the snake woman were coming toward us. I had no idea what was going on, but Alyssa yelled at me to run. "I can take care of this, I've got help coming! Go back to your house!"

I had no second thoughts. I didn't ask myself "should I?"

I just ran.

I had been a good cross country runner in school, so I covered a lot of ground, but I realized one of the monsters was following me. I could hear and feel the giant's huge footsteps shaking the ground behind me like an earthquake. For a scary second as I left the school, I almost stopped so I could remember where to go. I mean PU-LEEZ! This would NOT be the time to forget the directions to your house. So I kept running, ducking into a neighborhood to see if the giant would follow. I realized that even if he did it was highly unlikely that anyone would notice the giant. No one had ever noticed these monsters except for me. I started getting closer to home, where my neighbors and maybe even my dad would be, but I knew it didn't make a difference. What did make a difference was that I was getting pretty tired.

All of a sudden I tripped on a crack in the sidewalk and fell flat on my face. I could hear the monster getting closer to where I was, so I scrambled onto my back and realized I had twisted my ankle. I crawled as best I could as I tried to escape into a nearby alley, but it was no good. I watched pitifully as the giant came closer to me. He was thirty feet away, then twenty feet. At ten feet, I closed my eyes, waiting for the deathly blow to come.

But it never did.

I opened my eyes tentatively and realized that the giant was nowhere to be found. I could barely see a figure standing in a cloud of yellow dust five feet from me.

Then I blacked out.

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**Ooohh, cliffy! Please R&R!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, I know this is a fast update, but I'm leaving to go to France for a month, so I don't think I'll have internet access, and I wanted to give you another chappie before I go!**

**I don't own PJO, just Isabel and Alyssa.  
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I tried not to run as I carried this unknown girl in my arms, but I knew things wouldn't be good if I was caught. I wasn't supposed to bring friends with me into the Underworld, but this was different. _She's not _my_ friend, _I told myself, _she's a friend of a friend. _Still, seeing that she seemed to be a daughter of Demeter, I knew my father would not be pleased if he knew. After all, if she was not quickly returned, Demeter would have new claims against my father for kidnapping another of her children.

One good thing I noticed as I walked. Being in the Underworld gave me strength, the way water did for my cousin Percy, so I knew I wouldn't drop this girl, even though I had been tired from running so far to find her. I was not, of course, a child of Hermes.

As I thought this, the girl I was carrying stirred, but fortunately, I knew we were near my room. Now, the more knowledgeable of you may ask why I didn't just shadow travel us to my room. The problem was that by the time I found her, I was too tired to send just myself anywhere, much less two people.

"Alyssa," the girl murmured as I entered my room and laid her on my bed. Stirring a thought in my mind, I realized that Alyssa might be worried. Being a daughter of Athena, she probably knew from "deductive reasoning" where I had brought her friend, but she would be interested to know that her friend was safe. Then I might be able to figure out this girl's name.

I went to my dresser where I kept my cell phone, knowing that there wouldn't be enough light anywhere for an Iris-message. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

I decided a text message would be safest for Alyssa, since voices wouldn't be used, so no monsters could track her. The luckiest thing about being a son of Hades is that monsters don't come after you. A few more "intelligent"ones had come when Kronos was rising, but that threat was long gone.

I typed four words into the message. "It's Nico. IM me." I smirked thinking about the reception I was getting. My father had allowed _cell phone service_ into the Underworld, just for the space of my room. I had received a few privileges as a sort of "thank you" for convincing my father to get off of his throne and help out in the war against Kronos. _Oh, good memories._

I looked over and studied the girl currently asleep on my bed. Her long brown hair spread on the pillow as she turned over again. Worry began to overtake me as I realized she had been out for an hour, even though she had no visible injuries. Then an amused voice jolted me out of my thoughts.

"Nico." I whirled around to see Alyssa watching me, her hands on her hips and a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. I realized I had been staring at her friend, and a faint blush crept into my cheeks involuntary.

"Um, what's funny, Alyssa?" I knew perfectly well what was funny, but I acted ignorant.

Alyssa wasn't fooled. "You know perfectly what's funny, so don't act ignorant with me, Nico Di Angelo."

"Somebody ordered a psychic," I muttered under my breath. She was smiling widely by now, so I tried to explain.

"I was just realizing that she's been asleep for an hour even though she's not hurt. I wondered if something could be wrong."

"Uh-huh." She looked and sounded very disbelieving. I tried to change the subject.

"So, who is she?"

"Well, her name is Isabel Knight, she's a friend of mine from school, and I think she's a daughter of Demeter."

"No, really? I could have assumed that by looking at her."

Silence filled the air and I wondered what Alyssa could possibly ask me next.

"So," she asked me slyly, "do you like her?"

My jaw almost dropped but I took a minute to think how to outsmart the daughter of wisdom. "You want the honest answer?" Alyssa nodded fervently. "How am I supposed to know? The entire hour I've known her, she's been asleep." A smug smile slid onto my face, because I knew she wouldn't try anything else.

I paused when I heard Isabel turning over behind me, and I looked back at her to realize that she was actually waking up. A random thought I had: waking up in the Underworld, having been chased by a monster, and watching some guy talking to your best friend might not give you the best first impression of the guy—I mean the... gods.

Turning to Alyssa again, I saw that she was gone, always one step ahead of me. I watched as Isabel awoke, rubbed her eyes, and sat up to look around. As soon as she realized someone else was in the room, she swung her legs off the bed took two steps, screamed, and fell to the floor. I ran to her and lifted her back onto the bed. She looked up at me in pain and whispered, "Who are you?"

"It doesn't matter," I replied. "I think your ankle is broken."

"It's not, but I twisted it when I was running from that monster."

I nodded. "A laistrygonian giant."

"Where are we?"

I grimaced, and replied, "The Underworld."

"The _Underworld?_"

"Have you ever heard the Greek myths?"

"Like Hercules, or Hades and Persephone, or—"

I winced at the mention of Persephone's capture and interrupted, "Yeah, those. They really happened. Hades is, uh, my dad, and you're in the Underworld."

"You're joking."

I rolled my eyes exasperatedly. "Do I look like I would joke around about this?"

Isabel sized me up and came to a new conclusion. "You're right, you're not joking. How do I know you're not just mentally unstable?"

I had an idea. "Watch this." I clapped my hands and two of my skeleton servants rose from the ground. Isabel backed away in fear. "Don't worry," I assured her, "they only obey me, and I'm not about to make them attack you.

She visibly relaxed, and began asking me more questions. "If the Greek gods are real, then what am I? What are you? Where's Alyssa? Is my dad okay? Who—"

"Slow down, I can't answer five questions at once. We're demigods, better known as half-bloods. My mother was fully human, and my father is a god."

"You're half _god?_"

"Yeah, like I said, I'm a son of Hades. Alyssa and I think you're a daughter of Demeter."

"So who is Alyssa a daughter of?"

"She's a daughter of Athena, the goddess of wisdom, and she said she would be going to camp."

"What's camp?"

"Camp Half-blood is just about the only safe place for half-bloods. It's in New York, on Long Island."

"Well, how am I going to get there?"

I smirked. "Oh, that's easy. We'll shadow travel. I've learned how to bring someone with me."

"Good, because I was hoping I wouldn't be trekking across the country on this foot."

I realized I had forgotten her ankle. "Yeah, we need to get to camp, because the Apollo campers can fix that up fast."

"Okay, so how do we do this shadow thingy?"

"Well, actually, it'll be harder because of your ankle. After all, we can't have you land on it when we get there. I think... I might have to carry you. It's the only way to make sure you don't get hurt again." I was blushing cherry red by now, so I turned away, pretending to look for something. "Is that—is that alright?"

"Whatever it takes to get this over with," she replied, and I saw in the mirror that she was gesturing to her ankle.

"Uh, right." I didn't know what was making me like this, I was blushing and being very tolerant, but there were more important things at hand. "We probably need to go, so..." I walked over to the bed and Isabel stood up. I wordlessly picked her up bridal style, still blushing. I quickly concentrated on melting into the shadows, and moving to New York, to the border of the river at became dark and cold, and I wondered what Isabel was seeing. This being her first shadow travel, she would see her worst fears, and everything seemed its coldest on the first try. Then I saw green and jumped out onto the ground, still holding Isabel.

I set her down, and she looked downright ill She was pale and I realized her eyes had turned almost black. I had only seen this once, when I had seen the first effects of the Underworld on Persephone. Normally her eyes contained a rainbow of colors, but the Underworld could take a while to adjust to.

"Um, Isabel? Are you alright? I think you need the infirmary, bad." She nodded grimly, so I had her put her arm around me, and I put my arm around her waist to steady her as she walked. I noticed a hint of a smile on her face, and I wondered how she could smile, being sick like this. She must have been thinking of something very happy. **(A/N: Hint, hint!)**

I decided to send a message through the trees, because most of the time the tree nymphs were very good at passing messages correctly, so they could get Chiron, or someone, at least, to help.

For a while, Isabel was quiet. I realized that, being about my age,she should already have been claimed by a goddess and brought to camp, by the promise the gods had made. "Isabel, how old are you?"

She looked at me, surprised. "Thirteen, but I'll be fourteen at the end of May. Why?"

I sighed. "The gods made a promise that they would claim each of their children by his or her thirteenth birthday. You should have been here at least eight months ago."

"Maybe," she hesitated, "maybe my mom arranged for the monsters to come for me... so I would be taken to camp."

I stayed silent to consider this, but knew it was unlikely Demeter would have any say in these monsters' activity.

Suddenly, I looked up, hearing a voice and footsteps from the direction of the camp. As they grew closer, I saw that Alyssa had come to greet us. I again became aware of my arm around Isabel's waist, and, sneaking a glance at her, I saw that she seemed to have noticed as well, but she didn't seem bothered. **(A/N: Hint, hint)** I decided I would never understand girls.

"Hey guys," Alyssa called. She drew nearer to us and told me, "I can take her from here." I started to move away, but for a second, Isabel held on to me, and my arm felt reluctant to move from her waist. **(A/N: Again, hint, hint!)** Alyssa smirked at me, but I didn't know what her deal was, so I ran ahead to find Chiron.

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**I hope you caught the meaning of the hints! It's kind of obvious, but guys are oblivious (though none so much as Percy) and I couldn't make him realize yet. Read and review please!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay guys! I finally got a chance to update, so tell me what you think! I'm introducing another character, one you might recognize....**

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**_Isabel's POV_**

Alyssa led me away from Nico and steered me towards the border of the forest.

"So," she inquired, "what's up with you and Nico?"

I rolled my eyes at the puerile remark. "Umm, does it matter? But just so you know, nothing."

"Uh huh." Alyssa didn't believe me.

"Yeah, and until I figure out how to make you believe me, I'd appreciate it if you drop the subject."

"Whatever you say," Alyssa responded with a smirk. "You're the invalid."

I scoffed at her remark. "Invalid? I have a twisted ankle."

She seemed more serious now. "Maybe, but you look very pale, and that has to mean something. I need to ask Nico if that shadow travel can have adverse affects on half-bloods who aren't of Hades."

I found myself defending him. "It's not his fault. He didn't want me to get sick like this. It was an accident."

Alyssa pursed her lips. "Well, we're right around the corner from the Big House, so I'll have Will check on you. Will Solace. He's the one that saved Percy's best friend... oh, you don't know Percy. Percy's the one who led all of the half-bloods in the Second Titan War. His best friend took a knife for him in a battle, and he asked Will to heal her." I could just hear a stroke of admiration in her voice, and wondered who this "Will" was.

I realized something. "All of those storms last year, were those because of the gods?"

Alyssa's face darkened. "The Second Titan War. Kronos tried to take over, and we almost didn't make it through."

I stayed silent, knowing this must have been very important.

We turned a corner and Alyssa pointed ahead of us. "That's the Big House, where Chiron and Mr. D live. The infirmary is there too."

I looked where she was pointing and saw... a big house. I think I was expecting something a little bit more crazy from these people. We walked straight up to it and I saw two men on the front porch playing a board game, or as I like to call it, a bored game. One of the men was in a wheelchair, and the other was a pudgy man that smelled like grapes. The latter of the two spoke loudly when he saw me arriving.

"Oh look, you've found another one. I don't know how many of you kids I can stand. Chiron, why don't we throw this one on the streets and be done with her?"

The man in the wheelchair, Chiron, didn't focus on the other man's comment. Instead he turned to me. "Hello, dear, you must be Isabel. Don't worry about Mr. D. Nico told me you would be coming."

"Where is he?"

"Nico? He has gone to the arena to help teach the new students swordfighting. But you need to come with me... actually, I think Alyssa can take you in to the infirmary. Could you do that, Alyssa?"

"Of course, Chiron."

"Oh, yes," Mr. D injected, "I'm required to welcome you. Now get along!"

Alyssa led me inside the house quickly. "Who was that?" I asked.

"Chiron is the activities director, and Mr. D is a god who was sentenced here by his dad. He'll be here for another forty-five years or so."

"He's a _god?_"

"Yes, he's the god of wine." _That's why he smelled like grapes,_ I concluded.

"Okay, so where am I going now?"

Alyssa almost jumped. "Oh my gods, I forgot about your ankle! I have to get you to the infirmary."

She led me out of the room we were in, through a few others, then into a room larger than any of the others had seen. Five beds were lined against each wall, and cabinets hung on the walls around the room. "This," Alyssa told me, "is the infirmary. The Apollo campers work shifts here if there are any patients."

"Um, who are these Apollo people everyone talks about? I don't really think I want a bunch of kids as my doctors."

She laughed. "They're the children of Apollo, and Apollo _is_ the god of healing. Will is the best doctor we have." Again I heard the admiration in her voice as Alyssa spoke of Will. But she didn't see a boy about our age enter the room as she spoke.

"Who's the best doctor?" he wondered aloud.

Alyssa was dumbstruck. "I—I—I was gonna say that..."

I didn't know what was wrong with her. "She was talking about about some guy named—" Alyssa pinched me, but I continued. "Umm, some guy named Will."

"Well," he said with a smile, "that's news to me. I'm Will Solace by the way, and I think I'm the only Will in the Apollo cabin." My jaw dropped for a second, but I regathered myself quickly and sneaked a glance at Alyssa. She was glaring daggers at me.

"Umm..." Alyssa seemed to be too upset to say anything, so I decided to introduce myself. "I'm Isabel Knight, but Chiron probably sent you here for work, not chat, and my ankle isn't getting any better by itself."

"Right," Will replied, "why don't you come over here..." He walked over to me and helped me to one of the beds. I realized that Alyssa was bright red.

"Um, I have to go..." Alyssa tried to cover up her very apparent anger and just about ran from the room. I knew I wasn't a daughter of Athena, but I had a pretty good deduction of what was going on.

"Well," Will said, "it's sprained, not broken, but you'll need some ambrosia, because you're looking pale." He reached into the closest cabinet, pulled out what looked like a brownie, and handed it to me. "Ambrosia," he explained. "It's the food of the gods, and has extreme healing powers. But half-bloods can't eat too much, or they'll burn up. Literally."

I broke off a small piece and ate it. It tasted better than anything I had ever eaten before and I instantly felt better. The pain in my ankle was much lower, and I felt ready to leave. I sat up, but Will knew I couldn't leave yet. He had me lie back down, and grabbed an ankle brace from the cabinet.

"An ankle brace?"

"Yeah, " he laughed. "Are you surprised that I'm using something so normal?"

I was shocked. "Umm, yeah, that's almost exactly what I was thinking."

"Son of the god of prophecy here! I could pretty much tell you were about to say something like that. Apollo is the god of many things, so I have many godly traits of different kinds. It's very useful." As he spoke he was checking to see how tight to make the brace, or something like that, and when he finished, he slid the brace onto my ankle and fastened it. "Your ankle will be as good as new in a day or two."

I stood up and realized my ankle didn't hurt near as badly, so I took a few steps around the room, remembering everything that was going on.

"So this is the camp Nico told me about?"

Will's demeanor changed a little bit. "Nico told you about camp?"

"Um, yeah, he killed a giant that was about to kill me when I was in L. A. Then he brought me here after he took me to the Underworld."

"He took you to the Underworld?! You know, Hades kidnapped a daughter of Demeter for her beauty. Remember Persephone? I wouldn't put it past Nico to do the same." It took me a minute to realize he was saying Nico might think I'm pretty and decide to capture me. I was flattered that I would be thought pretty, or beautiful, to use Will's words, but I was mad that he could think that Nico might kidnap me. I knew Nico wouldn't do anything like that. I was about to tell Will that when a panicked look flashed across his face.

"Just... stay safe for me, Isabel," he told me. Then he hugged me. At that same moment Alyssa walked in, looking cool and composed. Will couldn't see her so I immediately backed away. I could tell that she had noticed so I hurried toward her.

"Um, gotta go!"

As soon as we were outside, Alyssa turned on me with her worst gray-eyed stare. "What was that about?"

I knew this would not be good. "Okay, before you say anything I have to tell you. I know you like Will, but I think he likes me and I don't know what to do. I don't like him! He was telling me how Hades kidnapped Persephone because she was beautiful, and said Nico might do the same to me. He almost flat-out told me he thought I was beautiful. How do I deal with that? And then he hugs me. And I know that this is not the way I wanted things to go. You see what I mean? You won't get mad at me, will you?"

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**Okay, this is kind of a cliffy! I need reviews to keep going, so please give me your advice!!! R & R Please!!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Ok people, I gotta tell you something.**

**I already have one more chapter written, but after that I've hit a block, cuz I'm not good at writing much more than romance. So I'm thinking of doing one of two things:**

**A) Discontinue the story or B) give you all the plot then write some of the more romancey chapters throughout it**

**Please tell me in your reviews what you think.**

**P.S. This has some funny Nicobel (NicoXIsabel)  
**

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Isabel's POV

I could see the expression of anger fading quickly from Alyssa's features. "I guess I believe you. I mean, your explanation makes sense. But I think we're going to need some help. It's time to go see Rachel."

I followed her back into the Big House, and we entered an area I hadn't noticed before. "This is the Oracle's wing," Alyssa told me. "It was built recently so that she can stay here whenever she's not in school. Rachel is the Oracle, by the way. _And_ she has had previous troubles in this area... At this time of day, she'll normally be in her room."

She came to a door that looked like it led into a bedroom and knocked three times. Almost immediately the door swung open, and I found myself face to face with a girl I assumed was Rachel. She looked around seventeen or eighteen, with bright red hair, wearing jeans that had scribbles and paint marks all over them.

"Hi Alyssa," she greeted cheerily. "Who's your friend?"

Alyssa introduced me and Rachel looked delighted. I wondered if she was always so happy.

"I'm very excited to be back at camp," she said. "It's so much better than Clarion. But anyway, what do you need, Alyssa? I take it you didn't come up here just to chat."

"No," Alyssa replied, "We do need some help. Do you mind if we come in? It's a bit of a story."

"Not at all," Rachel assured us, and led us inside. Speech no longer came to me. The room was amazing. Completely decked out with a TV on one wall and surround sound speakers, one wall was covered in paintings, another wall was covered in _paint_, and a queen bed rested against the fourth wall. Rachel noticed my staring and her lips curled into a sour smirk. "Yeah, my dad is kind of... _rich_." She pronounced the word with great distaste. "He told me I had to take care of myself here, so he got me... this." A silence followed, before Rachel regained her cheeriness and turned back to us. "So, what do you two need?"

"Well," Alyssa explained, "we have a bit of trouble with guys."

A look of recognition graced Rachel's features and she motioned for Alyssa to go on. "So, do you know Will Solace?" Rachel nodded so Alyssa continued. "Um, I—"

"You like him, right?" I figured Rachel would have known. After all, _I_ could tell after less than an hour of seeing her with him, and Rachel saw them every school break. Alyssa, however, seemed surprised.

"Uh, yeah. Here's the catch though. He likes Isabel."

Rachel's eyebrows raised. "Really? How do you know?"

I decided to step in. "I already told Alyssa what happened, because she wasn't there with us. He indirectly called me beautiful, told me to stay safe for him, said I'd be better off away from Nico, then _hugged me_ for no apparent reason. We confirmed that he likes me, we just don't know what to do."

Rachel looked pensive for a minute. "Do you like him, Isabel?"

I shook my head vigorously and Alyssa spoke. "Nah, she likes Nico."

I turned to her incredulously. "_What?_ Who ever said I like Nico? The only thing I said about Nico was that I was supposed to stay away from him according to Will and did you know that that is not much evidence upon which to convict me. And also—" Alyssa interrupted me.

"_Isabel!_ Be quiet, you're babbling. I think I'll let Rachel be the judge."

Rachel smiled. "Well, I haven't seen you around him, but you're showing the same signs Annabeth did. Anytime anyone suggested that she liked Percy she reacted the way you did just now. And look at them now... if they're not floating away somewhere underwater."

Alyssa stood up and walked to the door, but I focused on Rachel. "So you think _I_ like _Nico_?" Rachel's eyes widened at something behind me. I spun one hundred eighty degrees and saw Nico in the doorway. Immediately I knew that my cheeks were brighter than a red rose. _I wish Nico would give me a rose..._ I quickly chastised my self and turned to the situation at hand. "Uh, hi N-nico!" _Great, I stuttered on his name,_ I realized.

Then I saw that Nico looked pretty embarrassed himself. "Hey Isabel, I was just, uh, coming to—"

"Um, I gotta go," I muttered, and left the room immediately.

"Wait!" I heard Rachel running after me. "I have to tell you—" All of a sudden she bent over like she was sick, then stood as straight as a board. I saw that her eyes were a pale green, and a green mist was escaping from her mouth. Then she spoke in a raspy, tripled voice:

_Springtime and death, wisdom and sun_

_Travel south to the Ancient One_

_Daughter of sea, provider of life_

_Sending a thousand into strife_

_In the north the plant to save_

_Essence of the light of day_

_The enemy lies in the realm of death_

_And may take the archer's final breath_

Rachel collapsed then sat up quickly. "Isabel, what did I say?"

I had been struck speechless by the prophecy, so Rachel called Alyssa in and they took me to Chiron.

"What happened?" Chiron asked.

"I—I—" I could not yet form words.

"A prophecy," Rachel declared.

Chiron was shocked. "A prophecy? But we don't have—"

"A quest," Alyssa finished. "I know. But this has happened before, remember?"

"Of course," Chiron said. "When Zoe had to rescue Artemis."

Nico came running into the room. "What's going on with Isabel?"

I went to him quickly. "I got a prophecy."

"What is it?" Everyone quickly agreed that the prophecy needed to be heard. I told them quickly and everyone looked confused, even Alyssa and Chiron. They all were staring at the space above my head. Nico was the first to speak. "Persephone. You're Persephone's daughter."

I realized that this made Will's statement very ironic. I was no longer considered a daughter of Demeter, but of Demeter's kidnapped daughter.

Chiron understood first. "The first line of your prophecy is now clear. Four demigods will journey in this quest. You, Nico, a child of Athena, and a child of Apollo. The next line says that you will be going south to find this 'Ancient One.' There will be a daughter of the sea, which I am assuming to mean Poseidon, although she may be a godly daughter we have not yet heard of. She will bring life, but then bring strife to a thousand people." Alyssa had recovered and seemed to agree with what was being said. "There is a plant you will need to find," Chiron continued, "that can save someone. It will be of the essence of the light of day, which I believe means the sun. Your enemy is either death or he who resides in the realm of death, and an archer may die, presumably the son of Apollo on the quest."

Everyone was surprised and shocked. A daughter of Poseidon, Hades stirring up trouble, a healing plant. I had to find out what was coming next. "What do we do now?"

"You lead a quest," Nico stated simply.

"Well," Chiron said, "It's not as simple as that. We have to call a meeting of the cabin leaders and find out who else is going on your quest."

"Do I get to pick them?" I inquired.

"Yes," Chiron replied, "but choose wisely."

" I need a daughter of Athena, right?"

"Yes," Chiron told me.

"Then I need Alyssa." Alyssa walked over to where Nico and I were. As she stood next to me she whispered in my ear.

"Will?" she pleaded.

I looked at her, begging her with my eyes to say no, but I knew I couldn't turn my best friend down. "Ummmmm..."


	5. Chapter 5

**Here's the next chapter so PLEASE tell me what you think I should do. I don't have any more chapters.**

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Nico's POV

I realized Isabel was about to invite _Will_ on her quest. For some reason, he had confronted me about her a few minutes ago.

_**Flashback:**_

"_Hey Nico." I turned to see Will coming toward me. "I need to talk to you."_

"_Sure," I said._

"_I want you to stay away from Isabel," he threatened. "I don't want her to get hurt."_

_I was surprised. Will had always seemed like an easygoing kind of guy._

"_I would never hurt her. Why should you even think that?"_

"_Well, Hades does have a history for daughters of Demeter." He turned and walked away."_

_**End Flashback**_

"Ummmm..." Belle— Isabel, I mean— was making her decision. "Will, you can come."

I put on a face of apathy, but inside I burned. I shouldn't have cared, but I wondered if she liked him. I remembered the revelation I had overheard from Rachel's room. Rachel believed that Belle liked me. That had to count for something; after all, Rachel had experience.

Chiron dismissed the meeting and told us to prepare for our quest.

I walked over to where Belle was standing. "Hey, do you need some help?" I quickly gave Alyssa a look telling her clearly to back off.

Belle raised one eyebrow. "Help? I don't know what I need help with."

I laughed uncharacteristically. "First of all, you need a weapon, also more clothes and some food and money for the trip."

She seemed surprised. "You can help me get all of that?"

"Of course."

"Okay, so where do we start?"

I smiled. "First the arena. We need to find out how you fight." I impulsively grabbed her hand and pulled her along with me before she could respond.

We passed the strawberry fields and the stables, and arrived at the arena. I grabbed my sword from the rack and a training sword for Belle. I handed the sword to her and watched as she held it delicately in her right hand. Then she decided to switch it to her left hand. I was shocked.

"You never told me you're ambidextrous!"

She laughed. "I didn't think it was important. But now... now I feel like I need my sword in my right hand when it's in my left, and the other way around. It's almost like..." She trailed off. Decidedly she went to the rack and pulled another sword off the rack so she held one in each hand. Once she held both, she smiled. "This feels better, but they seem a little heavy."

I nodded. "They would be. Those are two-handed swords, but you'll need special swords before we leave. We need to go to the weaponry."

I led the way to the weaponry where I knew Jake Mason, head counselor of Hephaestus cabin, was working on a new sword. "Hey Jake," I called over the heat and noise.

"One minute, Nico," Jake yelled from the back room. A minute later he emerged from the door that led to the furnace. He smiled when he saw Belle and me. "What can I do for you?"

"Be—Isabel needs _two_ swords, one-handed, obviously." Belle gave me a look that I ignored.

Jake nodded. "I think I have just the sword for her." He walked to a cabinet, which I knew held many swords and daggers, and pulled out two swords. "Just the _swords_, I guess I should say."

Belle took the swords firmly and swung them a few times. "They feel perfect."

"We'll take'em," I declared. "Thanks, Jake."

As we left, Jake mouthed, "Good luck," behind Belle's back. I thought he was talking about the quest, but I wondered why he couldn't say that aloud.

Once we were outside, Belle turned to me expectantly. "What was that?"

I was lost to her meaning. "What was what?"

"Be—Isabel," she quoted in an uncanny imitation of my voice. My eyes widened in recognition, and Belle noticed.

"I was... I was just... you..." I stammered.

"I what?" Belle demanded. "What did you call me?"

"B-belle," I admitted.

Her expression softened. "Belle? Why?"

I had no answer. I mean, I wasn't even sure _I_ knew. Then I realized something. "Do you know what Belle means?" She shook her head. "It means... b-beau—"

"Hey Isabel!" We both looked to see _Will_ coming toward us. "Um, Chiron wants you."

Belle gave me an apologetic smile then ran toward the Big House. Not wanting to have Will try to talk me again, I headed to the arena.

After slashing up a few dummies, I heard a voice. "You're doing a lot better, little cousin."

I spun to see the last person I expected. "Percy?" I asked. "Aren't you supposed to be home on break?"

He smiled. "Yeah, but Chiron told me you were going on a quest. Annabeth and I have come to see you off."

I nodded. "Have you met Isabel yet?"

"Isabel, daughter of Persephone?" I winced slightly at the mention of Belle's relation to my godly stepmother. "Yeah, she told me you might be here."

I sighed. "Percy...how did you deal with Aphrodite?"

"Aphrodite?" He laughed. "I didn't. Why?"

I looked in the direction of the Big House. "I think she's found another target."

"Really?" I nodded. "Are you having girl problems now?" he asked with a smirk.

"Yeah, actually. You know, Will's nice and everything, but he's trying to get Belle to like him. Although Rachel says Belle likes me."

"Oh, you'll be fine then. Rachel always right nowadays."

I nodded. "But I'm worried that if she gets close to me, something will happen to her. I always lose the ones who I lo—who are close to me."

"So who is this Belle? Have I met her?"

"Yeah, you just did."

After a few seconds, Percy smiled. "Isabel? And you call her Belle?'

I gave him a glare that said, "Don't push me or you'll be sorry." He got the message.

I heard someone coming behind me. I turned and saw Annabeth and Belle coming. Despite the age difference, they seemed to get along quite well.

Annabeth came up to Percy and gave him a peck of the cheek. Belle and I blushed a little. "So, Belle told me a little bit about your quest," Annabeth said.

"Her name is Isabel," I corrected.

"You call her Belle," Annabeth countered. _Oh, now they've been talking about me, _I groaned inwardly.

"My point exactly," I explained.

Belle blushed and changed the subject. "Annabeth, weren't you going to show me a new move?"

"Yeah, come on." Annabeth and Belle headed to the center of the ring, where Annabeth began to show Belle the move in slow motion.

"Don't worry about it, Nico," Percy said. "Annabeth has always hated it anytime anyone else calls me Seaweed Brain. She's just trying to help you out."

I sighed. "Sorry, Perce. Your girlfriend just gets on my nerves sometimes."

"Well, she didn't always, did she?" he joked, referring to the time I had a little crush on Annabeth.

"I was eleven," I snapped.

"Hey Nico," I heard Annabeth call.

"Yeah," I yelled back.

"Can you come duel Isabel?" I noticed she didn't say Belle. "I want her to try this move on a sword fighter instead of a dagger fighter."

"Why not Percy?"

Annabeth smirked. "I think you'll be better at it."

I looked past Annabeth to Belle, and realized I had to give in. "Fine."

I went to the center of the arena, and after a moment, Belle and I fought. Slash, parry, duck, I went through the moves in my head, executing them cautiously. She was very good, considering her ankle and her lack of experience. A minute passed, and Belle tried her new move on me. I was caught off guard and the flat of her right-hand blade caught the side of my head. Suddenly everything was black.

A few seconds later I opened my eyes and saw a beautiful girl who was trying to talk to me and looked like she was going to cry. I raised my hand to her and I might have spoken.

"Belle. Beautiful."

The girl looked shocked and I wondered if I had said something wrong. Then everything was cold and wet and I became aware of my surroundings.

I sat up. Percy, Annabeth, and Belle had crowded around me. "What happened?" I asked.

Percy laughed. "He doesn't remember."

"Remember wha—oh." I blushed cherry red. "Did I really—" Percy nodded with a smile, and placed his hand on my shoulder to remove the water they had awoken me with.

I knew I had to get out of there. "I have to go." I turned to leave and ran straight into Will.

He looked annoyed, and said, "Chiron wants us. We're leaving right away."

Belle came up next to me, still blushing a bit, and handed me my sword. Silently we followed Will to Half-blood Hill where Alyssa was and received backpacks from Chiron, which he told us held our provisions and money.

Percy and Annabeth jogged up the Hill to stand behind Chiron. "Stay safe," Percy advised, "and good luck."

"Thanks," I said, and we walked down to the van where Argus was waiting to take us to New York City.

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**Okay I just LOVED this chapter, but now I'm stuck. Please answer the question from last chapter in your REVIEWS! PLEASE!!!**


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